Police chief wants to hire more officers for Plymouth Township

Plymouth Township has fewer police officers than it had during the last recession, new figures show, and it lags behind national and regional averages for the number of officers per 1,000 residents.

It's a situation Police Chief Tom Tiderington hopes to start remedying by year's end, though he said it's becoming a bigger challenge to attract top talent amid changes in pension benefits and stiffer competition among communities.

"It's a challenge not only to hire people, but to retain officers as well," he said Tuesday, during budget talks with the township board.

Township Clerk Jerry Vorva, meanwhile, suggested it's time to consider a more regional approach to fighting crime by consolidating the police departments of Plymouth and Northville townships and the cities of Plymouth and Northville.

Vorva said one department, perhaps with precincts, would be more cost-efficient, partly by slashing administrative costs. He said the communities already are linked by the same 35th District Court, along with Canton. He didn't include Canton in a regional plan, saying its population is inching toward 100,000 residents — and that's more than the other four communities combined.

Tiderington said the same case could be made for consolidating local government boards.

During his presentation, Tiderington said the Plymouth Township Police Department now has 26 sworn officers — down from a high of 31 as recently as 2008 — and 15 other employees. He has authority within the current budget to hire four new officers, which he hopes to accomplish by year's end.

Tiderington said he wants to hire officers who are "well above and beyond" most of their peers in qualifications. He said it's more difficult because Plymouth Township, like some other communities, has moved from an employed-provided, defined pension to one that township Supervisor Kurt Heise said is more like a 401(k) system.

If Tiderington hires four more officers, he said Plymouth Township would have about one police officer for every 1,000 residents. He said that is below the national average of 2.3 officers per 1,000 residents and the Midwest average of 1.5 officers per 1,000 residents.

The township also has eliminated certain positions such as canine officer, school resource officer and a bicycle patrol — cuts Tiderington said were made during recession-era budget cuts.

"We have not put anything back in (the budget) since 2009," he said.

Tiderington has proposed a $4.2 million police department budget for 2018, but he said it could potentially top $4.5 million with an infusion of drug forfeiture money that can be used to enhance the budget. Those numbers are not significantly different from the past year's budget, when the police budget was $4.3 million.

By hiring four new officers and having a 30-officer department, Tiderington said he could put more police officers on the street. He also said he could complement two 12-hour shifts by having a "swing shift" that would partly overlap the day shift and night shift.

Going forward, Tiderington said he hopes to lure top talent by offering $7,500 to pay for officer training. In return, he said an officer would have to commit to four years in Plymouth Township.

Tiderington also said he hopes to use drug forfeiture funds to pay for or replace items such as Taser guns, in-car video cameras, patrol vehicles and training ammunition.

Heise, meanwhile, questioned whether the township's Downtown Development Authority, a special entity that captures some tax revenues along the Ann Arbor Road corridor, might be a potential source of funding going forward.

Said Tiderington: "It is something we should explore."

The police department budget talks were the latest in a series of budget discussions the township board is having with various departments before approving an overall budget later this year.